BarbriSFCourseDetails

Course Details

This CLE course will guide IP counsel on the impact of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on domain name dispute mechanisms and access to accurate WHOIS. The panel will examine the domain name dispute process in light of reduced access to information that has been traditionally used. The panel will also discuss developing and implementing a successful domain name enforcement strategy considering the restraints of the GDPR, the reaction to it by most ICANN registrars, and potential next steps to fix the WHOIS problem.

Faculty

Description

The GDPR established rules regarding the control and processing of personally identifiable information. One consequence of the GDPR is that most of ICANN’s domain name registrars no longer publish the name and contact information for domain name registrants. Even though the GDPR does not apply to corporations, only natural persons, and does not apply to non-EU natural persons whose data is collected, stored, and processed outside of the EU, most of ICANN’s registrar community has decided to lump these data subjects in with the relevant EU data subjects, resulting in no access to even more crucial enforcement data.

Actual GDPR restrictions, and most of the ICANN registrar community’s overinclusion of data subjects, are problematic for brand owners and others who use the WHOIS database to identify malicious domains and research infringement claims. Although both the GDPR and overinclusion create significant obstacles for domain name enforcement, there are still options out there.

Listen as our authoritative panel examines the various rights protection mechanisms, including the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS), Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Procedure (UDRP), and the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), and discusses the impact of the GDPR on these mechanisms. The panel will offer guidance on navigating domain name disputes and discuss strategies for developing and implementing successful domain name enforcement protocols in light of the restraints of the GDPR.

Outline

  1. Impact of GDPR on domain name dispute resolution mechanisms
  2. Navigating the domain name dispute process
  3. Domain name enforcement strategies in a GDPR world
  4. Potential next steps to fix the GDPR/WHOIS problem

Benefits

The panel will review these and other important issues:

  • What impact does the GDPR and overinclusion have on domain name disputes?
  • What alternatives do IP owners have for identifying and investigating malicious domains and infringers?
  • How do the changes ICANN has made to the WHOIS/RDDS system impact mark owners' ability to navigate the URS, UDRP, and ACPA?